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Tips for Your Most Perfect Eyebrows! A Complete (lengthy) Guide.

I get asked about my eyebrows a lot so I figured I'd compile a little helpful post full of tips and good products to use when doing your brows. Whether you're maintaining their shape or enhancing them with makeup products, hopefully you'll find this helpful!

to start, a little history:First off, I don't consider mine "perfect" by any means. But I will say that I do consider myself somewhat knowledgeable about eyebrows. I've been dealing with mine for most of my life. As a child with naturally dark hair and even darker (and thicker) eyebrows, you can imagine how difficult some of my elementary years were as an 11 year old battling a uni-brow...lol. But seriously, over the years I've had some really interesting brow mishaps. From discovering the wonder that is tweezers, to abusing that luxury and over plucking the you-know-what out of them. So basically, my knowledge and tips come purely from my years and years of mistakes in the past. I've learned what works and what doesn't and luckily, in my college years, finally figured out how to maintain them in a way that worked for my face.

Now keep in mind, eyebrows are a tricky business. Remember that everyone's preferences are different when it comes to brows. Everyone has a slightly different natural shape and arch to theirs. Which brings me to my first tip:

1. Go with what nature intended. Play up your natural arch and brow shape. If you don't have a very "arched" natural arch, don't force it. It will never look smooth or natural and you'll be stuck maintaining them like CRAZY. If you "clean up" your natural shape, it will be much more flattering to your face.

Also consider the length of your actual arch. While it shouldn't extend too far down your brow bone, tweezing or waxing them off too short can really throw off the proportion and balance of your face. Trust me, I've been there...to both extremes.

2. Don't overpluck the "tail" of your brows. Use the little trick I mentioned and demonstrated in my video (watch it below) to find the perfect stopping point for your particular face.

So you went to Target and saw the most amazing little mirror that allowed you to see every single hair on your face. As grossed-out as you were, for some reason you bought it. Yep, been there too.It's tempting, and trust me, for YEARS I thought this was the ONLY way to pluck my brows. Looking back at myself in pictures during this time really proved this next tip. Thank GOD I lost that mirror. Because I'd probably still be using it and my eyebrows would be 1/4 their size.3. Don't pluck with a magnifying mirror. Ever. Seems like a great idea, and it makes seeing the hair so much easier, but if you need a 10x magnifying mirror to see the hair, you don't need to pluck it. Unless you have serious vision issues, you don't need one of these ever.

4. If you are unsure about tweezing a certain hair, just don't do it. Chances are, if you can't decide if it really needs to go, it doesn't. Plucking just one hair can leave a gap or mess with the shape of your brows.

5. Only trim if necessary. I could type a lengthy how-to about this, but just use my demonstration in the video to help you. There are some some very important things to remember when doing this.

6. If your brows look uneven (I've been there MANY times), DON'T pluck the one that appears larger in order to make it match the smaller one. Chances are, you'll end up with not one, but two over-plucked brows. Just fill-in the area of the "smaller" one that appears not to match the other. Even them up with a brow pencil or eyeshadow while that area grows out.

7. If you've over-plucked or over-trimmed in any way, put the tweezers down and step AWAY from the mirror. Trust me, a few weeks of letting them grow back out will be worth it. During that time, just wear some large sunglasses. But seriously, you can grow them out without looking grizzly. This doesn't mean you have to neglect the obvious re-growth that shouldn't be there. AKA hair in the uni-brow area or hair that is far above or below the natural arch. Just leave the hair to grow right around the natural shape you want.

So what the heck do I do now that they've grown out?8. To get the shape you want, whether you've grown out an over-plucked situation and need to start fresh, or you just want to do something with your brows for the first time, I'd strongly suggest going to a reputable salon to get them waxed. Tell them not to go overboard and bring pictures if you want. Just be realistic and choose pictures of brows that are similar to your natural arch and shape.

9. After you've gotten your perfect shape, you can maintain them yourself! As they grow back, you'll notice the shorter hairs that had been waxed (or plucked) from before. Tweeze ONLY those. Don't get happy and tweeze any longer hairs.

10. NEVER and I mean NEVER use one of those "eyebrow razors". Invented by the devil. I mean seriously, why market such a thing? Definitely not a precise tool. Plus, any hair that is growing in a large enough area where you'd need to use a razor should probably be waxed. Trust me. It will last longer and look a lot better. If you take a razor to any area around your brows, you're just asking for a mishap. Plus it looks like stubble when it grows back which is just weird looking in the eyebrow area. ...well, any area really.

11. When filling them in, use less product than you think. It's easy to go overboard here. Also, use a product a little lighter than you'd think you'd need. For example, my eyebrows are very dark brown, almost black hairs. If I used a dark brown, almost black product to fill them, even if I tried to use a light hand, the result would be a bit.... Groucho.... you get the picture.

...not a good look for a female. Or a male, really.Trust me, at some point, I've probably been here too.Eyebrows I mean.... yeah.

Also, don't forget to comb back through them with a spoolie-type brush after filling just to blend any products you've used. Makes them look a bit more natural as well.

Products I mentioned in the video:Tweezerman TweezersSonia Kashuk "spoolie brush" or MAC (or any brand) disposable mascara wandsB Beaute brow shaping scissors (Ulta sells them)Maybelline Define-A-Brow pencil (Medium Brown for me) or MAC Eye Brows pencilsMAC #208 brush (angled brush)Folie eye shadow (may not work for you--remember to use a color a little lighter than your brow color)Maybelline Great Lash Clear Mascara (awesome cheap brow gel)*MAC and other brands also make colored brow gels to save a few steps. Be careful with these-- A mascara wand is not the most precise tool so they can look quite scary if they smear on the skin outside the brow shape. Also, if you get them too light, they look crusty on your brows... ew. If you find a shade in the exact color of your brows, they can look harsh. So understand that there may not be a perfect shade for you in those products. There isn't for me! Or at least I haven't found one yet.

Lmao, trust me I have totally been groucho before, It's so embarrassing, looking at old photos. My problem had always been overfilling them, and it looks harsh against my small face. I have black eyebrows naturally and bleach helps me a lot, and lets me use a darker color if I'd like to. Thank you SOOOOOOO much for this post, its sooo helpful!

Fantastic tips! I find that using a brow stencil really helps to shape my brows. You know the old saying, "brows are sisters, not twins"? Well, I think my brows look exactly alike now. I did a review on Anastasia Brow Express which can be found at http://purplelustre.blogspot.com/2010/01/anastasia-brow-express-review.html. Thanks for the great advice!!!

Great tips indeed. I always did mine professonally because everytime I try to do them myself it's like... disaster (and because it hurts a lot lol) At least here in Brazil it isn't expensive to have them done by a professional. Anyway I loved your tips. Thanks.

I am really loving that Benefit Eye Bright. I even read some of the reviews on it from Sephora's website and it received excellent reviews... (That will be the next product I pick up) Tiffany, I am DYING to see how your new Stila eye kajal (in Topaz) looks on. Will you be doing a look with that one soon? I have been eyeing that for a while to use on my waterline as an eye brightener... Keep up the excellent work. You are my favorite YouTube MUA!!

This is excellent, cheers! Alot of this I already do, so I feel like I'm doing something right hehe. And it is very much appreciated that you mention a lot of things most pages I've visited with these tips seem to just expect you to know.

Thanks for these tips! I actually use one of those "evil" eyebrow razors but I only use it between my brows because it's much easier for me to get all the little baby hairs that break when I try to tweeze them. Unnecessary maybe, but I like the way it looks better. And another good thing to use if you have to trim eyebrows are nail scissors. I found a random pair and they work wonderfully!

Thanks for the tips....I've been plucking the hairs that are too long and not trimming them. Oops! Ulta is now on my errand list for this weekend for scissors!BTW....I've noticed that eyebrows have seemed to 'fade' as I've gotten older. I'm in my late 30s and they definitely need some help in showing up, whereas they didn't 10 year ago.Have a daisy day!

You are looking so sweet dear, in the picture.the eyebrow product that you are using for herself,it suits four moon on your beauty, this is a Tips to Get What You Want,or mean to say that you deserve......

I have naturally black eyebrows, and even when I tweeze them the hairs grow out looking like stubble against my extremely pale face. Sometimes the hair is still too small to be tweezed (even with pointed tweezers I have to wait a couple of days). They look like dark, ugly black splotches. Is there anything I can do to hide them until they're long enough to pluck?

Oh my god, THANK YOU! The first time I ever did anything with my brows, I practically cut all the hairs off of the outer half of my brow (I'm scares of using tweezers, so I just use really, REALLY small [I think they're meant for nails?] scissors, to get all the hairs really close to my skin. I cut them like this, because the tails of my brows are very sparse. And as weird, as this may sound, I'm happy I did. After I did that, the hairs grew back thicker and longer than before! I was so happy, now I'm just waiting for them to finish growing. I'm really happy with the way they look, and and I'm just penciling them in, until they're exactly how I want them. I really need to pick up some clear brow gel, or mascara, because my hairs fall DOWN and then you can tell how I penciled them in, and it's not attractive.. I need to do that next time I have a little cash!

Hi Tiffany.. Thanks for the tips.. BTW, i had the most disastrous bushy eyebrows.. I actually overplucked on the left side, and it didnt grow back! So, it's unbalanced. do u have any tips to grow them back?

okey, this will probably sound strange, but you could use alo vera gel to set your eyebrows! you just take some gel and dab it on your brows with your finger, and then blend it with a brow-brush. You will save ALOT of money, the alo vera will last forever, and the tube? will never get dirty by any browcolor!

Thanks for this post! I just started growing mine out after I wrote this post on my humor blog: http://www.tallcurlybiscuit.com/2012/08/new-trend-in-body-hair-grooming/ and then my son said my eyebrows were too thin. Good tips!

Thanks for this post! I just started growing mine out after I wrote this post on my humor blog: http://www.tallcurlybiscuit.com/2012/08/new-trend-in-body-hair-grooming/ and then my son said my eyebrows were too thin. Good tips!

You have beautiful eyes! Loved your post on brows. I had thin brows even when I was much younger and spent a long time on my eyes getting ready to go out. :( I heard about Neubrow from a friend and decided to try it - I never know there was anything to help thicken brows! You can read up on Neubrow at www.skinresearchlabs.com. :)I LOVE my brows.

Hi!!I've been watching your youtube videos for years now. And I've always had problems with my eyebrows which are busy, too dark and that sort of stuff. I really hated them. I've been trying to regrow them after a few months ago a beautician made them appear worse than ever, she overplucked my brows. I was scared of tweezing them again, but today I read your post and tried plucking them. I've only plucked away the astray hairs and now they look amazing, natural and they frame my face so well. Wow, this article was the best brow advice I've read in my whole life, especially because it really worked for me.Thank you so much for your work in your blog and your youtube channel. You're really sweet and it's pretty easy to understand everything with you. Keep it up!!!

Great information and tips on eyebrows. Thanks so much for posting! I get asked often about thinning eyebrows and you can get eyebrow regrowth. We need to get more information out there on eyebrows so thanks for your post!

Nice post. I was checking constantly this blog and I am impressed! Very helpful info specially the last part :) I care for such info a lot. I was looking for this certain information for a very long time. Thank you and good luck.